11.29.2009

keys, celery and a toy drill.

Poor Piper Bea is nearing the end of her rope with the whole teething thing. She'll gnaw on anything within arm's reach in a thus far failed attempt to relieve the four small sources of her aggravation.

A couple of weeks ago she tried to devour a set of plastic keys. Last Sunday at our pre-Thanksgiving family get together she discovered the cool, solid vegetable that is celery. That seemed to work for a short time, but eventually she sent a telepathic message to my stepfather who obliged her wish by running a toy drill along her gums. For a short time, she seemed to have found solace.

Today brought more of the same frustration and though she was putting up a good fight, the teeth were once again winning the day. Piper gnashed her teeth and eyeballed every toy in the house, the kitchen appliances even the salespersons at the hardware store.

Unfortunately, that toy drill does not dwell in our home (though I plan on rectifying that). Yesterday's run, however, seemed to be a decent substitute and I decided to give it another go.

Piper napped fitfully until 4:30 and I knew we were pressing our luck. I decided to wake her up, quickly ushered her into her car seat and fed her a bottle on the drive over to the rails-to-trail. By the time we pulled up to the trailhead, Pipe had downed most of the bottle and gave little resistance when I removed it from her mouth. She didn't argue as I buckled her into the jogging stroller. Another good sign. I threw a headlamp into the stroller's pocket and away we went.

I'd decided to be content with whatever distance we were able to cover, but hoped we'd at least manage a 5K. Light was fading as we neared an intersection that serves as a just-over-a-mile-and-a-half turnaround. Piper's early cooing (adorable) had quieted and I wasn't surprised to peek under the weather shield to find her sleeping soundly.

Daddy's "drill" had worked its magic.

Breaking out the headlamp, I pushed past the intersection and continued on to the true turnaround, pleased to have stretched the mileage a little further. Pipe slept the rest of the way and then serenaded me with sweet little infant songs on the drive home. I felt rewarded.

Of course the pain returned and before we'd made it the whole way through Piper Bea's entree of organic sweet potatoes, she'd turned her attention away from the food and focused on the spoon itself.

But, Monday will bring with it the possibility of another comforting run. Lily comes home tomorrow and she'll find a little sister, mother and father who are thrilled to have her back.

that's it?

I do other things besides parenting, running (and writing), but nothing else as enthusiastically. I work and sleep quite a bit and believe I'm fairly talented at both. In fact, like it or not, my abilities to parent and (certainly) to run probably lag far behind my capacity to fill my job description and put head to pillow at the end of the day. However, I still only attend to those activities because they enable me to take care of my children and get out and run.

I've also been known to enjoy (in no particular order) a long, long walk in the woods or along an open ridgeline, a good book, the miracle of bees, the mystery of birds, a cold beer, competitive facial hair growing (yes, you read that correctly), live music, recorded music, roaming the country, kayaking, dribbling a basketball and catching a kickball among other things.

I believe that once you've become a parent, it's all too easy to begin taking your partner for granted even if said partner sticks around. My wife has most definitely stuck around and is most definitely not taken for granted. Of all the things mentioned above that I enjoy, I enjoy most of them all the more when shared with Lindsay.